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UK to Phuket Direct Will Start Next Year
28th Dec 2012
TUI Travel Plc would soon launch a direct service to Thailand, late next year, from the United Kingdom using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
It would be a first time for such aircraft to fly to the country since its global debut last year. TUI Travel Plc is an international leisure travel group based in Crawley, England.
The scheduled date for the launch is November 5, 2013, which will see the first 787 Dreamliner of Thomson Airways touches down at Phuket Airport from Gatwick Airport in London.
By then, Phuket will be one of the first long-haul destinations served by TUI's Thomson Airways. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet will also be in its maiden long-haul flight for the charter airline flying from Gatwick Airport.
In May 2013, Thomson Airways will start flying its 787 Dreamliner jets from its hubs in UK across the Atlantic to destinations in Florida, USA and Mexico. The launch pads of the Dreamliner in UK for the maiden flights will be Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester and East Midlands. Thomson will also become the first British airline to use the next generation aircraft.
Not only will the Thomson Airways be the first airline to introduce regular service to Thailand using the fuel-efficient B787 Dreamliner, it will also be the first and only charter airline from UK to operate direct service to the country's world famous resort island.
There have been no regular airlines planning to deploy their 787 Dreamliner jets to the Kingdom of Thailand.
The General Manager for long-haul products of Thomson and First Choice, Shona Swain, enthused that they are thrilled by the prospect of launching their Dreamliner jets on the Phuket route soon.
According to a spokeswoman of the company, they want to build up the leisure travel in Thailand with the introduction of the B787 into the country which has become their clients' popular destination.
The Dreamliner's entry into the resort island will enhance the image of Phuket as a holiday destination along with the company's own unique properties including the First Choice SplashWorld and Thomson Couples which are found in Khao Lak, Krabi and Phuket.
The airline is originally planning to operate Dreamliner charter flights to Phuket during the peak travel season, commencing on November 2013 and will stretch up to April 2014.
Thomson's B787 can seat up to 291 passengers in a 2-class configuration, 47 seats in the premium cabin and 244 in the economy.
Thomson Airways will get 8 of the 13 B787 aircraft TUI Travel has ordered from Boeing.
Currently, the charter airline has a mix of Airbus and Boeing fleet with a total of 57 aircraft consisting of A320s, A321s, B737s, B757s and B767s.
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